One of the first tasks of a dog owner is to housebreak his dog.
One of the first questions a newly housebroken dog owner asks is:
"How to housebreak my dog?"
Of course, it is difficult to give a general answer to this question. However, there are some Tips and procedures, which facilitate and accelerate the education process. We want to get to the bottom of this very extensive topic in this article and prepare you as best as possible for this important task.
What does "housetrained" mean for a dog??
Housetraining, as the name implies, stands for a "clean room", i.e. a clean living area. Clean in this case of course does not mean cleaned. Rather, the term describes Housetraining the dog the following fact:
The dog has learned not to do his business in his own living area and thus keep the "parlor" clean.
However, a dog is not born housebroken. Rather, it is part of education and one of the most important tasks for you as a dog owner. The Housetraining a puppy is a step-by-step process and requires above all from the dog owner a lot of patience and discipline as well as understanding for the own dog.
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At what age should a puppy be house trained??
It is impossible to define the exact point in time when a puppy is considered housebroken. After all, this depends mainly on the upbringing and approach of the master. In addition, no dog is the same, which is why no general information can be given here.
However, there are guideline values, which were established by veterinarians and animal researchers.
When your dog is house trained, depends on your own education. A puppy does not learn on its own that there is a difference between doing its business indoors and outdoors.
Tips and tricks: How to housebreak your dog
In order for your dog/puppy to become housebroken, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Furthermore, a lot of understanding and patience is needed.
Basically, the "housetraining" mission goes like this:
As soon as your dog needs to go to the toilet, you carry or escort him to a place where he can do his business. So z. B. into the own garden or in front of the house door.
"But how do I find out that my puppy has to pee now?"
This is an important question, which unfortunately cannot be answered with guarantee. However, there are situations and factors that herald an urgent business of the puppy.
First, however, the following is important to know:
"The younger the puppy, the more often it has to urinate, respectively. the shorter he can hold his bladder."
For this purpose, the following rules of thumb can be followed.
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Rules of thumb when raising a puppy to be housebroken:
2 – 3 months
Puppies need to go to the bathroom pretty much every hour
3 – 4 months
Puppies hold their bladders for a maximum of 2 – 3 hours
4 – 6 months
Puppies should go out at least every 4 hours
Of course, even with this rule of thumb it is not always possible to predict when exactly the puppy has to do its business.
Therefore, as a master, you should also pay special attention in the following situations:
Recognize typical signs when training to be housetrained
Most puppies need to be trained immediately after
1. Wake up
2. Food& Drink
do their business.
So, especially in these moments, it is advisable to go outside with your dog as a precautionary measure.
Another sign the puppy instinctively gives on its own. As soon as he sniffs around intensively or runs around restlessly it is also advisable to go outside with him for a short time.
Permanently housetrained – This is how it works!
With the basic knowledge just learned, a sudden mishap still can not be prevented. If mishap happens to your puppy Your reaction as a dog owner of crucial importance.
You should always follow the principle of positive reinforcement, which states the following:
"If your puppy does something right, you must praise him extensively. But if he does something wrong, never punish him for it."
So if an accident does happen and your dog pees in the apartment, you prompt him with a short "No" to stop and then escort him out the door. If he does it again outside, you praise him exuberantly.
How to housebreak my puppy at night?
You know the situation. During the day you are steadily after your dog and it works out that you go out the door in time. But what if you are sleeping at night and your dog needs to pee? -After all, you can not stay awake all night.
This is where a little trick comes into play, which is especially good to use with young and inexperienced puppies:
Before going to bed you go out again briefly. Then you put your dog with his basket in a high cardboard box from which he cannot get out. (Alternatively, you can also use a dog crate*, which you can lock.)
Since your dog has a basic instinct, which keeps him from soiling his place or lair, he will take notice in case of an incident. This is done either by barking, whining or whimpering.
In this way you wake up when you hear your puppy whining and you can get him out of the house in time before he goes into the apartment.
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Housetrained dog makes back to the apartment
Experienced dog owners know that even a house-trained dog can suddenly make its way into the apartment or house out of the blue. But what is the reason?
This behavior can have several reasons:
The dog could not leave the house for too long
A classic cause of your housetrained dog making it into the apartment is that your last walk was too long ago is. Even a dog can not hold back or control his urge to urinate forever.
If your dog is housetrained, he will normally show you clearly that he has to go to the toilet before he actually goes into the apartment. But if you do not react to these signs, it can quickly come to an accident.
Dog marks in the apartment
Especially in unneutered males, this is a behavior that occurs at least once in the dog’s life:
Your house-trained dog goes back into the apartment after a long time and pees on the sofa or even in your bed.
The reason for this is very simple, because the dog marks "his" territory in this case. This behavior is often referred to by dog experts as "Macho behavior" called, because here the dog does nothing else but tell you:
"This is my place, from now on it is mine!"
Especially when dogs are allowed to lie in bed or on the sofa, this will eventually happen. Basically, you have only one way to react then. You have to teach your dog make clear who is the master in the house and who owns sofa or bed. Of course, you do not do this by peeing on the said spot as well. Rather, you send your dog down from the sofa or bed and make it clear that this is your space or area. It’s best not to let him on the sofa or bed at all, or at least not for a while. In addition, you should give your Dog a separate area z. B. on a dog blanket*, which your dog from now on will call its range can look at.
So if the dog wets the apartment when he is actually housebroken, you should think about your own behavior instead of punishing him for it. He is acting out of natural instincts and is not doing this to annoy you.